Day 8 (The Last Day): El Valle

Posted by Victoria

Today, sadly, was our last day in Panama. But we still had a good time, and the day closed out the trip nicely.

We visited El Valle- a town in Panama. The bus ride up was absolutely beautiful. There were hills and mountains everywhere, with diverse flora adorning them. The only way I can think to describe the mountains is "lumpy". For some reason, the mountains here in Panama don't look craggy like the Rockies or rolling like the Appalachians. They're lumpy and a bit misshapen. And the trees growing on these mountains aren't nearly as uniform as I expected- it seemed as though no tree species repeated twice. There were yellow-greens and reds and browns and pinks and forest greens. Puffy, white clouds hung about the tips of the highest mountains.

As we drove around, we wondered at both the natural beauty of the place (which I've described), and all the gorgeous homes present. I found my dream home (I'll attach a picture later), as did Hugo. I'm pretty sure all of us picked a favorite at one point. Clearly, this is where the wealthy of Panama live. It was a bit sad to consider this in contrast with the poverty so prevalent elsewhere in Panama.

First, we got mud masks at a small place in the mountains. Since there were two colors of mud, we made designs on our faces... and our bodies. Many of us made mustaches and beards, some imitated war paint. I proudly decorated Jeff and Patrick a la "Jeff $" and Pocahontas, respectively, as shown in the picture (thanks to Christie for the picture).

After that, we went on a short hike around a creek. It was so beautiful- we walked through rope bridges, over rocky creeks, down stone stairs, and all around this towering waterfall. Needless to say, there were a lot of pictures taken.

We then visited a local market to shop for some souvenirs. Immediately after we got out of the bus, there were two men selling small meat kebabs, cooked over a tiny charcoal stove- for only 35 cents! Nearly all of us tried some, and it was quite delicious. While we're not sure exactly what kind of meat it was (they called it "carne"... but nearly all meats are called that), we did enjoy the experience, and no one got sick (as far as I know).

Surprisingly, there were a few handicraft stands run by hippies at this market. By hippies, I mean soft-spoken, "chill" young men with dreads playing the guitar... not exactly what I was expecting to find in Panama. Most of them were backpackers/nomads selling really interesting handmade jewelry. The people at this market were really friendly, and were exceedingly willing to strike up conversations with us, wanting to know about our trip and our backgrounds. Robin even got a marriage proposal from one of them! You can read more about that in her blog.

Next, we went to the beach. We swam in the Pacific Ocean (a first for some), playing in the rough surf while waiting for our food to be ready at a restaurant on the beach. At one point, we stood in a circle and randomly joined hands, so as to create a "human knot". This "knot" was tossed about the shoreline, causing a few bruises and a lot of laughs.

We closed out our trip to Panama by making fajitas and creating paper plate awards for each other, assigning assorted superlatives related to different inside jokes and events over the course of the trip.

Now, as I realize that I'll be home in twelve hours (which is a nice feeling), I know how much I'm going to miss Panama, the villas, the lukewarm showers, the ridiculous songs on the buses, Genato from Nutre Hogar, the plentiful seafood, and... all of my fellow classmates. We had so much fun, and learned so much on this trip. Thank you, guys.

In conclusion- Que Xopa!